Wordless Wednesday Tuckered Out Mini Pony

Gizmo, our mini pony, is tuckered out after a day of eating hay and running around.

Wordless Wednesday Jaedan's Wire Thestral Art

Jaedan made this Thestral (A bat-like winged horse creature from Harry Potter) out of wire for art.

Look carefully to see the dragon skull (carved into the wooden base) it is standing on.

Wordless Wednesday Twisted Carrots

Zari found this fun twisted carrot from the large bag of juicing carrots we get for our horses to eat.

Wordless Wednesday Happy Holidays From Our Farm

Merry Christmas From Pony Feathers Farm

Canvas On Demand Premium Thick Wrap Canvas + Coloring Canvas Review #mycanvasondemand

I received this free to facilitate this review.

Canvas On Demand makes it easy to turn your photography or art into something more. They have canvases, prints, and personalized gifts that could make your home one of a kind and unique. The ordering process is so simple too. Canvas On Demand has some wonderful ideas for some fabulous gifts this holiday season!

Their premium wrapped canvases are conveyed to be top quality. These offer a ridged, warp-resistant construction, 1.25"thick wrap, an enclosed back, pre-installed hardware, and an extended 2 year warranty. There are 25 different sizes to choose from too. Learn more here.

What I Thought:
I got to pick out a 16x20 Premium Thick Wrap Canvas and a 16x20 or 16x16 Coloring Canvas. I got to personalize the 16x20 Premium Thick Wrap Canvas with one of my own photography pictures. I picked a picture of my horses grazing in our field with a rainbow overhead that I took in April of last year. I thought that this photo would make a lovely art piece for my wall. I selected the Floral Wolf 16x16 Premium Thick Wrap Canvas with White canvas edge. It is a black and white line art of a wolf made out of leaves, branches, flowers and mushrooms. Here are some FAQ about the Coloring Canvases.

Step 1: Upload Your Image

The ordering process was very straightforward. You click the link that I have below to build a 16x20 Premium Thick Wrap Canvas. Then you click on the Order a 16x20 Premium Canvas button and select your photograph or art to Upload Your Image.

Step 2: Edit Your Item

Then after you select your image and upload it you can Edit Your Item. You can choose different options on this page like: orientation, color effects, edge, size shape. I chose the color blur edge, but there are image, black, and white edges also available.

Step 3 & 4: Choose if you would like a Professional Review or Touch-ups done for extra cost.

After this page you have the option of having a professional review and a retouching & enhancement if needed for extra cost...I did not select these options.

Step 5: Add anything else to your cart you would like, make sure options are correct.

I was also ordering a Coloring Canvas, so I chose out of the many to select and picked out my absolute favorite, the Floral Wolf by Aron Gadd. This suited my love of forest flora and fauna. I love how intricate it is. It will be a fantastic addition to my wall when I am done coloring it. I selected the correct size 16x16, white canvas edge, and I only wanted one. Canvas On Demand recommends BIC Mark-It Permanent Markers in a Fine Point tip which can also be purchased with the Coloring Canvas you choose or separately at an extra cost if you don't have your own set of good markers for coloring on canvas. Then I added that too to my cart.

Step 6: Make sure everything looks good in the Shopping Cart and order.

I looked everything over and made sure that my Shopping Cart looked good then proceeded to Checkout.

You will get an email with your order number, status, and information.

You will put in your shipping and billing information, and email so they can send you an email when they have your order number and tracking information when they ship your package.

With flash you can see the enclosed back of the canvases and the pre-installed hardware.

My package took a little over a week to get to me. The box arrived safely on my doorstep. Both canvases were wrapped really well for the travel to my home.

Look how dark the Canvas On Demand print came out from the original.

When I opened the box up and looked at my photograph that they made into a Premium Thick Wrap Canvas I was surprised and a very disappointed at how dark the colors were. The colors looked washed out, too dark, and the definition is not there with the detail anymore. I wish the colors were brighter and more defined on the canvas. I will have to put a spot light on this to get it to pop like the original does.

Floral Wolf not colored on my wall.

The Coloring Canvas was also sloppily wrapped around the frame so the corners stuck out as well. I love the print of the wolf and I can't wait to color it, but I wish that it was wrapped better. These were not museum quality by any means. Maybe though you will have better luck than me.

Sloppy wrapped corners of the Coloring Canvas.

BUY IT
Save 60% off Premium Gallery Wrap Canvases, Coloring Canvases, & more from Canvas On Demand with code USFAM! #mycanvasondemand

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Wordless Wednesday Orange Sun In A Smoky Sky

The forest fires in the Columbia River Gorge are making our sky an eerie color of orange and smoke haze.

Wordless Wednesday Blueberry Tongue

Blueberry is our horse and I caught him sticking his tongue out at our goat, Chia 😛

Fluffy Layers Dish Towels and Pot Holders with Farm Beauty Print Review

Fluffy Layers is a wonderful company that was developed by Tara Grier. She and her team at Fluffy Layers are the creators of The Egg Collecting Apron®, The Egg Gathering Apron® & The Harvest Apron®. They also have some other cute, fashionable products & new home and textile items for the farm lover in us all. I got to have a taste of some of their Farm Beauty products for the home. These are wonderful to brighten any kitchen with!

I received the Farm Beauty Dishtowel Set. This set comes with a pack of three dish towels. These measure 20" width x 30" long. These are fairly absorbent and great for drying dishes or just to embellish your kitchen with. You may use a warm iron on these to get out creases from folding.

Farm Beauty Dishtowel Set.

I also received the Farm Beauty Pot Holder Set. This set comes with a pack of two potholders. These measure 7x7" and have a hanging loop on each for easy storage. They are heat resistant and great for handling hot pans/dishes with. You can place your hand inside the pocket for a better grip.

 
I used an old rake head to make a pot holder and oven mitt hanger for my kitchen where I will display my Fluffy Layers Farm Beauty Pot Holder Set and the Oven Mitts to match them that I purchased separately. I love the farm animal design of the Farm Beauty print! This colorful design has flowers, horses, sheep, cows, pigs, ducks and chickens on it. They are both machine washable on warm, made of 100% cotton, and are imported. Do not use bleach. Lovely accessories to decorate the kitchen with and very functional too! Break out your inner farm fashionista!

BE SOCIAL
Fan them on Facebook.
Follow them on Twitter @fluffylayers.
Follow them on Instagram.
Follow them on Pinterest.
Follow them on LinkedIn.
Hashtags: #fluffylayers #egggatheringapron #eggcollectingapron #harvestapron #farmbeauty

BUY IT
You can purchase these and other Fluffy Layers products in their Fluffy Layers' Online Shop. Tara also has an online store for Fluffy Layers on Etsy, Zazzle, and Amazon! Etsy has products that are samples. Most of these are items that are not in their original packaging, have minor flaws, or that her models wore for photo shoots. Because these are seconds they are marked down. Zazzle has a whole different selection of Fluffy Layers products, including: travel mugs, leggings, door mats, blankets, shirts, pillows, ornaments, Christmas stockings, clutches, hoodies, and phone cases. Amazon sometimes has deals for sets and other items from the original store.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received these products for free to facilitate this review. As a Fluffy Layers Brand Ambassador I get occasional products to share with my readers for free. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. 

Give a Novica Gift for Christmas, Review and $35 Giveaway

I received a $35 gift card free from Novica to facilitate this review and the opportunity below to giveaway another $35 Gift Certificate. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

NOVICA helps change the lives of artisans in developing nations, while offering us extraordinary handmade gifts, jewelry, apparel, and home decor. There are so many talented artists and artisans around the world. NOVICA provides these unique, hard-to-find items on their internet website at great prices. These services are all fair trade, meaning that they don't charge the artists and artisans any listing fees and the artists and artisans remain fully independent. They are free to raise their prices, lower their prices, or remove their items from their website whenever they please. This website is great to buy something from for your special someone for Christmas, just remember since these items are coming all the way from the country they are made in, the shipping might take longer than expected.

I received $35 to spend on Novica. I love the variety and eclectic feel to Novica. I sought out something unique to bring a welcoming knock to my farm house door. I purchased a Horse Door Knocker called 'Horse Arrival' which is made out of copper plated brass that has an antique look with a lacquer finish. It is so very perfect for welcoming guests into my home. This horse head door knocker is hand crafted by Khalid Ali, an artisan in India, and inspired by the ancient Mughal style. It even came with the iron screws to mount it. This door knocker gives an ambience of dignity and grace and also has a neat feel of the orient. At a little over a pound in weight, this has got some beef to it. I love the way it looks and hope it lasts a long long time out in the elements. I cannot wait to install it!

This brass door knocker 'Horse Arrival' can be found in decor accessory categories such as Animal Themed Decorative Hardware. Enjoy exploring these sections for other Novica treasures.

WIN IT
Prize: Win a $35 Gift Certificate from NOVICA (This GC Expires 1/31/2017).

I run giveaways with Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to NOVICA for sending me a $35 gift certificate for free to review a product off their website and one $35 gift certificate to give away for free. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review of their website. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

The Okee Dokee Brothers Saddle Up: A Western Adventure Album Review and Giveaway

We received this product free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this post. Thank you for supporting this blog.

The Okee Dokee Brothers, Justin Lansing and Joe Mailander, are wonderful outdoors men and Americana folk musicians. The duo are at it again with a new album and adventure. This new album is called Saddle Up: A Western Adventure and it is their third Adventure Album. This album, just like their first (Can You Canoe?: A Mississippi River Adventure) and their second (Through The Woods: An Appalachian Adventure) albums, has a DVD along with the CD that shares footage of their journey in the part of the USA they are trekking in and a field journal, liner notes from journals they kept.

In this album The Okee Dokee Brothers spent a month horseback riding, camping, exploring, filming, and making music (This whole CD and DVD!) on location along the Continental Divide. They met some neat people along the way that shared their stories and music with them while they took a small breather from exploring the outdoors and creating their own songs. This album is a wonderful compilation of 15 original tracks from The Okee Dokee Brothers with songs that feature some guest artists. This album features an array of instruments such as: banjo, guitar (electric, acoustic, & baritone), drums, wheelbarrow, washboard, whistling, coconuts, cardboard box, bottles, tin can, udu, rusted steel drum, trombone, electric bass, jawharp, hoots, hollers, autoharp, percussion, dobro, steel guitar, accordion, Navajo vocals and chants, harmonica, fiddle, upright bass, piano, Wurlitzer, organ, Nord keyboard, pedal steel, and vibes.

The Okee Dokee Brothers make riding horses look good :)

See the Trailer for the Saddle Up DVD here...



Track Listing on the CD:

1. Saddle Up: The title track to this CD, this song has a lot of country heart.
2. Don't Fence Me In: Upbeat song about riding in the wide open country.
3. Cow Cow Yippee: This is a funny song about being a cowboy with the cows.
4. The Great Divide: A nice song about the the Continental Divide.
5. Jackalope (with Jim Campilongo): A very silly song about a creature that might, or might not be imaginary. This song has a ballad feel to it.
6. One Horsepower: Song about trading your caddy and truck for driving cattle on a horse.
7. The Legend of Tall Talkin' Sam (with Rosie Newton): Song about a girl named Sam that likes to tell tall tails.
8. Hard Road To Travel: A very truthful song about life and that sometimes you just have to buck-up. I love the instraments in this one.
9. Shootin' Star (with Cindy Cashdollar): A song about Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill, & Calamity Jane and how even the sharp shooters put down their guns and bullets for a good song and strumming the guitar.
10. Sister Moon and Brother Sun (with The Benally Family): A beautiful song with American Indian chants and the story about how the woods were made, rivers were forged, mountains were formed, days were split by the nights. I love this song so much and it is one of my favorites on the CD.
11. Good Old Times: I love the fiddle in this one...a song about reminiscing about good times in the past.
12. Lead A Horse To Water (with John Sebastian): This song has some great harmonica. It is about the spirit of the horse.
13. Somos Amigos (con Carlos Medina): This is a great upbeat song that is great to dance to. It has some Spanish and is about being friends no matter how different you are. Has some great accordion and Mexican sounding beats.
14. The Grass Is Always Greener: I love this song to dance to as well. It is upbeat and has some great fiddle and other instruments. This is a song about wishin' about stuff, but realizing that you still have it good right where you are.
15. Last Lullaby: A soft lullaby lulling a little buckaroo to sleep with a great thought to go with it. This is a great sleepy song for getting your little cowpoke to bed.

With their beards, flannel shirts, overalls and instruments The Okee Dokee Brothers are sure fun to watch perform on stage as well. You can see when their next show is here.

Like all the Adventure Albums before, this one does not disappoint! It is great to take with you to listen to on a family road trip, around a campfire or even while hiking. It is a wonderful reminder to get outside to experience and explore nature with your family and friends. Saddle Up is wonderful music for kids that resonates with adults as well. The songs on this album are serious, silly and everything in between. Some will make you want to dance and others are lullabies that will help lull you to sleep. The messages in all the songs are good and wholesome and The Okee Dokee Brothers feel like Kindred Spirits to me. If they keep making these Adventure Albums I would be thrilled! I can't wait for the next adventure album in this series to see where they will be going next, if there is one. Saddle Up is a must have for any family music collection!

BE SOCIAL
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/okeedokeebros
Twitter - https://twitter.com/OkeeDokeeBros
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/okeedokeebros/
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/user/OkeeDokeeBros
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/okeedokeebros
BandsInTown - http://www.bandsintown.com/TheOkeeDokeeBrothers

BUY IT
Go HERE and you can buy The Okee Dokee Brothers merchandise.



WIN IT
Prize: Win a copy of The Okee Dokee Brothers Saddle Up: A Western Adventure Album.

I run giveaways with Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Beth Blenz-Cluc​as of Sugar Mountain PR for sending me a free The Okee Dokee Brothers - Saddle Up: A Western Adventure Album CD/DVD to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this post. Thank you for supporting this blog.

Barnyard Kids: A Family Guide For Raising Animals Book Review

I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Do you have kids? Are you also considering raising farm animals? Or do you already raise animals with kids? Well, the Barnyard Kids: A Family Guide For Raising Animals book by Dina Rudick might just be for you!

Horse lovers in training :)

We purchased our farm about 2 years ago and at the time we had only one farm animal, a mini pony named Gizmo. We still have Gizmo and now many other animals have joined our farm. In addition to him we also have 3 horses, 2 llamas, one goat, one chicken, bunnies, and ducks....and bees (I count them as farm critters).

Chia the goat likes to follow Delbin everywhere.

Before we became farmers we were pretty much city folk. We didn't have any animals except our doggie best friend, Prince, and the occasional cat before that. Having a farm had always been on our radar though and since we were given Gizmo we thought it was the right time to get back to our rural roots. Since getting a farm we have learned so much about how to care for the animals we have taken in (pretty much all our animals are rescues).

Jaedan with Truffle the Bunny

Barnyard Kids: A Family Guide For Raising Animals by Dina Rudick is a great book for teaching kids the basics of animal husbandry. It is a 160 page guide and resource on a menagerie of barnyard critters clearly organized into chapters by animal. It covers: chickens, pigs, sheep & goats, cows, horses, and rabbits. This book is packed with great facts and tips. Each chapter about the farm animals has sections about: What Makes Them Tick?, What Makes Them Sick?, Where Do They Live?, What Can They Give?, Q+A, and Daily Schedules and routines to care for the animals. Besides all the educational information about these animals this book has all kinds of beautiful photographs, pictures, illustrations, charts, and diagrams to help you visually.

This book is great for 4-H and an Agriculture course in Homeschool. I recommend this book to Parents, Caretakers, and Teachers everywhere that want to teach children to be self-sufficient, hard working, caring, happy, and healthy individuals.

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DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this book for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Wordless Wednesday This Is How We Mow The Lawn

Roped off part of the lawn outside the field so the horses can munch it down.

Blueberry (Appaloosa gelding) , Skittles (Cremello filly), and Dreamer (Skittles mother, Palomino mare).

Sad Gizmo, the stallion mini Shetland pony, can't join in the fun.

Wordless Wednesday Sunday Dress and Horses

My kids and I dressed for church. It has happened, my teenage boys have both surpassed me in height, LOL!

The horses were curious at what we were doing.

Horse lovers in training :)

Wordless Wednesday Field of Rainbows

Gizmo, our mini pony had to be in this shot :)

Our Farm Home

Our Farm Home.

We recently purchased a farm property with 2 houses, a barn, a chicken coop/shed, and a lean-to. These were built in the 1920's and have a cute cottage look to them. There is also a tiny building that houses the well on the side of our property. They sit on 5 and a half acres and are nestled in between a gorgeous canopy of trees.

The pasture, large barn, mailbox, chicken coop/shed, well house, and wagon wheel gate.

My favorite structure on the property is the barn. It is a large barn that was used previously for cows and loose hay. I also love the gorgeous wagon wheel gate to the larger pasture and the large mailbox.

The many flora of the farm.

Along with the shade of many trees (walnut, apple, pear, cedar, pine, mock orange, lilac, magnolia, smoke, tulip popular, etc.) there are other flora as well. There are rhododendrons, azaleas, roses, columbine, clover, dandelion, lilacs, daffodils, peonies, violets, ferns, yucca, wildflowers, etc. There is also a lovely grape vine loaded with it green grape leaves right now. We made grape juice from the harvest last year as well as dried pears and apples from the fruit we picked. My daughters planted a petunia in the front flower bed and I have since planted a fuchsia there also. We are planning on growing more fruit trees and having a large edible garden too. We want to keep the property park like.

The mini pony, horses, wild deer, bunnies, and a frog Jaedan is holding.

We would love to own chickens, quail, a goat, and maybe a llama or alpaca someday very soon. We also keep two bunnies and some bees. Right now we rent pasture to three amazing horses. They are so sweet! The large spotted Appaloosa gelding is named Blueberry and he loves me. He comes up to me and nuzzles up against me. He was in my picture for my Renaissance Fair costume review. Then there is a gorgeous Cremello filly named Skittles that looks so much like a unicorn it is otherworldly. Last but not least is a Palomino mare named Dreamer. She is a bit shy, and loves to stand out in the rain. Our mini Shetland pony, Gizmo, is there as well, but since he is a stallion he is in his own separate paddock. We occasionally see other wildlife: deer, owls, bats, cranes, osprey, hawks, eagles, squirrels, birds, skunk, raccoon, lizards, snakes, frogs, etc.

Our plan is to become more sustainable and live in harmony with our surroundings. This is the first time we've owned a farm. We are learning as we go about being farm folk. I am planning on doing a lot more posts about our critters and farm life. Stay tuned and I'll try and keep you posted.

Nordic Naturals What's Essential Rescue Pet Photo Contest

Tatiana playing ball with Prince.

This is a sponsored post and I will be getting free product for posting. This post is in partnership with Nordic Naturals. All information about the contest was provided by Nordic Naturals. All other thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this post.

I believe pets are important part of human happiness. Their integrated existence with us on this planet has its major benefits. Pets have helped mankind for centuries. There is documentation where having a pet around people, especially the: elderly, special needs, disabled or handicapped has lowered stress and increased happiness.

Before she passed away, we were planning on getting a mini pony or hypoallergenic breed of dog for my daughter, Tatiana, who was blind and had cerebral palsy to aid her in her various needs. We did get Prince, a rescued shelter dog, slightly before she passed away and they absolutely adored each other. Prince would be so excited when Tati would come home from school on the bus. He would wait by the door when it was time and when I wheeled her into the house in her wheelchair he would come up to her and put his head in her lap and lick her hand with his doggie kisses. Prince wasn't really trained as a service dog, but he was still very affectionate and loving with her.

Nordic Naturals is putting together a great Photo Contest that supports and gives back to Paws for Veterans and Animal Shelter Dogs. This is a great cause! This helps dogs receive good loving homes and injured military veterans get the care they need.

About Paws for Veterans
Paws for Veterans, Inc. is a community-based organization that provides service dogs, training, supplies, and therapeutic group sessions to Veteran and Active Duty men and women struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Physical Disabilities. As a 501 C 3 non profit, this organization rescues, rehabilitates, trains, and re-homes dogs as service dogs for injured Veterans.

About Nordic Naturals
Based in Watsonville, CA, Nordic Naturals is committed to delivering the world’s safest, most effective omega oils to help provide the essentials of an extraordinary life. Distributing to more than 35 countries, Nordic Naturals offers more than 150 products in a variety of flavors and formulations, all in line with leading standards for safety, efficacy and sustainability. By providing omega oil supplements for adults, kids, athletes and pets, Nordic Naturals helps everyone do more of what they love. Further information is available at www.nordicnaturals.com. Nordic Naturals is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nordicnaturals and people can follow the company on Twitter at @NordicNaturals.

The Contest
Nordic Naturals® wants to see adorable photos of rescued shelter pets on their Facebook page and support a good cause in the process! Pet owners can enter Nordic Naturals What’s Essential Rescue Pet Photo Contest by uploading their special photo on the company’s Facebook page between June 28 and July 18. www.facebook.com/nordicnaturals Two grand prize winners will be chosen on August 1st and will receive a prize pack that includes:

• A 3-month supply of Nordic Naturals Omega-3 pet products and human products – you choose from a list of qualifying Nordic Naturals’ products
• Dog and cat goodies including collapsible water bowl, chew toy, doggie bags and a plush fish toy
• The Dog Bible: Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know and The Cat Bible: Everything Your Cat Expects You to Know books by Tracie Hotchner
• A custom canvas painting of your pet by beccavision.com
• Mr. or Ms. Omega-3 Pet Award Certificate
• Profile featured on the Facebook app 

BUT, that’s not all!! The contest supports the non profit Paws for Veterans, Inc. and voting for your favorite pet photo on Facebook earns dollars for this important organization. This is a win-win for everybody -- rescue dogs are given a purpose in a loving, forever home, service members experience the healing power of their new canine partners, and Facebook Fans enjoy the satisfaction of knowing their vote in the contest sends $1 to Paws for Veterans (up to $5000).

To enter on Facebook:

• Go to the Nordic Naturals Facebook fan page between 6/28 and 7/18
• Upload your pet’s photo
• Vote for one of the finalists from 7/19 to 7/31 then see the winners on 8/1

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: This is a sponsored post. This post is in partnership with Nordic Naturals. I will be receiving products for free for posting this post. All information about the contest was provided by Nordic Naturals. All other thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this post.

Beautiful Beasties - Pet Photography Book Review and Giveaway

Beautiful Beasties by Jamie Pflughoeft of Cowbelly pet photography is a fantastic book all about pet photography. It is a how to guide that goes over everything from equipment to use, photography basics, lighting, exposure, composition, challenges, developing, processing, editing, marketing and building a business, etc. This book mostly touches on photographing cats and dogs with a small blip about other pets.

My dog, Prince, is hard to capture on film or digital. I have found his neurotic behavior troublesome. Every time I get out my camera he knows that the red light or flash will illuminate stuff and create shadows. He loves to chase the light and shadows and it drives me and himself completely bonkers. He barks, whines and tries to scratch the floor or nip at the light. I have tried to stop him from doing this, but my husband and kids think it is funny and try to get him to engage in the behavior. My camera isn't the only thing he gets this way with. He also does this with flashlights, rainbow/sun catchers, sunbeams, laser pens, mirror balls, etc. I have yet to figure out a way to rid him of this habit.

I was excited to get this book to see if it had any specific tips for me and photographing him. In the chapter on behavior challenges it goes into neurotic behaviors very briefly. I was hoping for more in depth, but what this book did tell me was still helpful in my situation. It told me to get his energy out before the photo shoot so that maybe he would be more calm and relaxed. It also said to try to let the pet be themselves how ever silly, energetic, or neurotic they may be. If I let him be himself I could capture more of his personality.

I also re-learned a whole lot about photography that I had forgotten from my photography class I took in college and some stuff I hadn't learned about digital cameras and more on editing in Photoshop. I edit my photos in either Gimp or Picasa so I am not as familiar in Photoshop as I'd like to be, but everything seemed very straight forward.

So, here are some of my results...

This picture was washed out because of the lighting and time of day that I was shooting. In Picasa I hit the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button, then brought up the highlights a little and brought the color temperature all the way up.

This photo was Prince at play and one of my favorites I shot. He just pounced toward his rubber chicken toy and I caught him in the action just as he had landed and cocked his head toward the camera. If you look you can see his long floppy ears are still up a little as the wind caught them and as he tossed his head about :)

Here is my mini pony Gizmo. This book also has a short entry about photographing and working with other animals like: horses, small furry rodents, birds, and reptiles/amphibians.

This book taught me a lot and proved to be a very useful guide to photographing animals in a creative way. I am glad I got this book for free to review. It was fun to photograph and experiment with different settings and things. I still have a lot to learn, but this book was definitely a great starting point for beginning pet and animal photography.

BUY IT
You can purchase this book from different retail places for around $17. If you are going to try to photograph your pooch, feline, or other pet friend this holiday season consider this book.

WIN IT
Prize: Win a copy of Beautiful Beasties by Jamie Pflughoeft.

I am trying out Rafflecopter on my blog. Please click on this post link if you do not see the script for it below. Also, if there is anything that is wrong with it let me know by emailing me: finamoon AT gmail DOT com I will try my best at fixing it. Thanks for being awesome readers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Global Influence for sending me product for free to review and letting me giveaway one. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Summer Fun at the Kalama Community Fair

We have been staying very busy having a lot of fun this summer with camps, summer reading programs, VBS (my kids are always invited by the neighbor kids), swimming lessons, staycations, field trips, fairs, and festivals.

We recently brought my girls to the Kalama Community Fair on July 20th this year. It is July 19th thru the 21nd, 2012. It is located every year at the Kalama Fairgrounds. Kalama, Washington is located in Cowlitz County on the Columbia River north of Vancouver, Washington and south of Kelso & Longview, Washington. Longview is right across the bridge from my home in Rainier, Oregon.

My girls had fun seeing all the animals and entries of yummy food, garden grown items, handmade things, art, etc. We have been to this fair before in previous years and it is always more down to earth and neighborly than some of the other fairs we have been to. I will always remember the photo I took of my daughter, Tatiana, with a friendly pony while we were there in August of 2008 it is one of my favorites.

This year my 4 year old daughter, Teela, entered the Chicken Chase. Before she signed up there was a lady handing out cake pops to all the younger kids and so Teela and Zari each got one. It was fun to watch her chase around all the chickens trying to capture one and bring it to the finish line. She was the first to catch one in her age group and she won the prize, a blue tube necklace that lit up and flashed. She was so happy.

We went to pet some horses, ponies and goats next and Zari was a little reluctant at first to pet them, but she warmed up after a while.

Here are websites about the Kalama Fair:
Kalama Community Fair
Kalama Fair Pictures
Kalama Fair Facebook Page